Idaho Independent Auto Dealers Association (I.S.I.D.A.)

Welcome to the I.S.I.D.A.

Welcome to our new website!  We have just upgraded  with new graphics and features.  We will be updating over the next several weeks so be sure to come back often so you can see what we are up to.  Most of the information is up to date now.  A special thanks to Auto Search Technologies, Inc for putting our new site together. 

• HOW CLOSELY DO YOU CHECK VINS?

  06 19 2009

  To steal a person’s identity , a thief needs to get a hold of some of your private information. But to steal a car’s identity, they only need to see a car in a parking lot and copy the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) that is visible on the dashboard (for vehicles manufactured after 1967) and perhaps lift the license plate, replacing it with a license plate from another vehicle. With the technologies that are available today, the car identity thieves take that stolen VIN number and license plate, doctor up fake labels and a title on a computer and “clone” the original vehicle’s identification. With the license plate and cloned VIN labels in place on the stolen vehicle and the doctored fake title, the thief may be able to register the vehicle (usually in another state) and bingo!, he has a vehicle to sell to an innocent dealer or consumer. The thief often uses the same stolen VIN and license plate on more than one vehicle, generally registering them in different states, and taking them to auctions in states far away from where the thief stole the vehicle. In my previous “life” we worked several cases with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) involving high dollar SUV’s and pickups that were stolen in Canada, and “cloned” before they were shipped to auctions located in the United States. When you purchase a vehicle at a auction, from a wholesaler or take it in on trade, remember to check the dash VIN, door jam NHTSA sticker, and the EPA certification sticker under the hood against the VIN on the title or registration or auction invoice to see that they are ALL the same. Check the dash VIN closely to see if there has been any VIN tampering. All American domestic assembled vehicles since 1970 should have the dash VIN held on with rosette- type rivets. Non-domestic vehicle vehicles use a variety of rivets. If you think a VIN plate or rivet attachment is not correct, check it against another vehicle of the same make/year. Consumer protection groups are urging buyers to first check the car history database companies ( CARFAX, AUTOCHECK, etc.) for vehicle history reports to make sure the VIN is not improperly assigned to another vehicle. Most auctions run the consigned vehicle VIN’s thru a vehicle history database before offering it for sale. But even the vehicle history report is no guarantee, but another option that you can use. The national salvage vehicle database is finally up and running but less than 30 states are reporting their title information, and access to this federally mandated database thru third party web-based vendors has been slow to materialize. In Idaho, when you complete the dealer section of the ITD 502 Report of Sale/Title Application you, as the selling dealer, are certifying that you have inspected the vehicle identification number. We recommend, that if you are not physically inspecting the VIN on two places (dash and door jamb) on each car that you sell, that you starting doing so ASAP!. There are signs to look for on the altered labels and title documents. For instance, the spelling on a forged label or title may be wrong. The spacing of the text may be incorrect. Compare it with a known good title from the issuing state. Many states use a “watermark” in the title document paper. You can easily check for the watermark by holding the title up to a bright light. If you have a bar code reader, the bar code on title document or the VIN plate should be the VIN that is assigned to the vehicle. If not, you may have a problem. NICB officials report that there may be as many as 20,000 cloned vehicles in the United States. Be careful that your vehicles are not among them !

• FTC Delays Red Flag Rule Enforcement

  05/12/2009

  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission recently announced it will the delay enforcement of the new Red Flags Rule until Aug. 1 to give creditors and financial institutions more time to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs. This rule also applies to dealers. For businesses that have a low risk of identity theft, such as businesses that know their customers personally, the commission will soon release a template to help them comply with the law, officials indicated. "Given the ongoing debate about whether Congress wrote this provision too broadly, delaying enforcement of the Red Flags Rule will allow industries and associations to share guidance with their members, provide low-risk entities an opportunity to use the template in developing their programs, and give Congress time to consider the issue further," Jon Leibowitz, FTC chairman, explained. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) directed financial regulatory agencies, including the FTC, to promulgate rules requiring "creditors" and "financial institutions," in addition to dealers, with covered accounts to implement programs to identify, detect and respond to patterns, practices or specific activities that could indicate identity theft. FACTA's definition of "creditor" applies to any entity that regularly extends or renews credit, or arranges for others to do so, and includes all entities that regularly permit deferred payments for goods or services. Some examples of creditors offered by the FTC are finance companies and automobile dealers that provide or arrange financing, mortgage brokers, utility companies, telecommunications companies, nonprofit and government entities that defer payment for goods or services and businesses that provide services and bill later, including many lawyers, doctors and other professionals. "Financial institutions" also include entities that offer accounts that enable consumers to write checks or make payments to third parties through other means, such as other negotiable instruments or telephone transfers. During outreach efforts last year, the FTC staff said it learned that some industries and entities within the agency's jurisdiction were uncertain about their coverage under the Red Flags Rule. During this time, FTC staff developed and published materials to help explain what types of entities are covered and how they might develop their identity theft prevention programs.